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Slovakia v England (2016 Euro)
| next = }} Slovakia v England was a match which took place at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard in Saint-Étienne on 20 June 2016. England manager Roy Hodgson's gamble of making wholesale changes backfired badly as they stumbled to a goalless draw against Slovakia in Saint-Etienne. Hodgson made six changes, including resting captain Wayne Rooney, from the win against Wales - but a limp performance means Chris Coleman's side finish top of Group B and England's life is now more difficult if they go deeper into Euro 2016. England had the better chances, with Slovakia keeper Matus Kozacik saving well when Jamie Vardy broke clear in the first half, as well as blocking crucially from Nathaniel Clyne after the break. Rooney came on for the struggling Jack Wilshere after 55 minutes, but the pattern was set and Slovakia defended manfully for what should prove to be a precious point. Dele Alli had also a shot kicked off the line by Martin Skrtel just seconds after coming on as a substitute on the hour. England now travel to Nice where they face the team that finishes second in Group F - either Hungary, Portugal, Iceland or Austria - next Monday. It was a major surprise that Hodgson chose to make such mass alterations to an England team that had finally picked up some momentum with Thursday's last-gasp victory over Wales. That win put them in position to top the group by beating Slovakia. Instead, with nothing decided and with the group still open, Hodgson chose to leave out Rooney, Kyle Walker, Danny Rose, Dele Alli, Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane. Hodgson introduced Vardy and Daniel Sturridge, who both scored against Wales, as well as Clyne, Ryan Bertrand, Wilshere and Jordan Henderson. It gave England a disjointed look and they ran out of steam and threat long before the end. Time will tell if this was the selection that proved decisive in England's Euro 2016 campaign - but the bottom line is when you make a controversial choice such as that, you need to win and Hodgson's side failed. Wilshere was given a starting role as Hodgson shuffled his squad to inject freshness and to give those on the margins some game time - but it was a move that failed. The 24-year-old Arsenal midfielder looked exactly what he is at the moment: less than fully fit and off the pace after a Premier League season where injuries meant he barely featured. Wilshere played just 141 minutes of Premier League football over three games at the end of Arsenal's season. This was no sort of preparation for a major tournament and it showed, but such is Hodgson's belief in his talents that he could not resist the temptation to select him, against all logic. He strived to somehow revive his best moments but it was not to be - not through any lack of effort, simply a lack of spark, his natural game dulled by the long absences. Wilshere looked a dejected figure as he went off to be replaced by Rooney after only 55 minutes, the possibility growing that his chances of making a serious impact on Euro 2016 badly damaged. Match Details |valign="top"| |valign="top" width="50%"| |} |w=2 |d=0 |l=1 |gf=6 |ga=3 |bc=lightgreen}} |w=1 |d=2 |l=0 |gf=3 |ga=2 |bc=lightgreen}} |w=1 |d=1 |l=1 |gf=3 |ga=3 |bc=lightblue}} |w=0 |d=1 |l=2 |gf=2 |ga=6 }} |} See also *UEFA Euro 2016 Group B *UEFA Euro 2016 External links *Match report at BBC.co.uk Category:2015-16 Match Day info Category:UEFA Euro 2016 matches Category:UEFA Euro 2016